David Rader (born March 9, 1957) is an Oklahoma State Senator and former American football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa from 1988 to 1999, compiling a record of 49–80–1.

Rader graduated from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then attended the University of Tulsa, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 1978 after serving as the starting quarterback for the Golden Hurricane in 1977 and 1978. While at TU, Rader was a quarterback and part of the 1976 Independence Bowl team. He was the starting QB in 1977 but was injured in the third game. For the 1978 season, he started all 11 games for a 9-2 record.^[1]

Rader was an 11th round pick (295th overall) in the 1979 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers^[2] and was later picked up by the New York Giants.^[3]

Rader coached at the University of Alabama as an offensive assistant from 1983 t0 1985 and then again as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2004 to 2006 under head coach Mike Shula. On February 1, 2010, Rader was hired as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Ole Miss Rebels football team after the departure of Kent Austin.^[4] Ole Miss did not retain Rader for the 2011 season.^[5] Between roles at these SEC schools he was also Head Coach for his Alma Mater, Tulsa, starting in 1988 at age 31 – the youngest head coach in NCAA Division 1 at that time. Rader served as head coach until 1999, coaching the most games in TU history.^[6] In 2008, Rader received the Merve Johnson Integrity in Coaching Award. In 2011, his book Missing Page from the Playbook – Fundamentals Behind the Physical, Mental, and Emotional Elements of Commitment was published.

Rader was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate on November 8, 2016. He serves the 39th Senate District.^[7] Dave was first elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in November 2016 and re-elected in November 2020. He presently serves as Chair to the Senate Republican Caucus, as well as Vice Chair to the Appropriations Committee and Select Committee on Redistricting. He sits on the Finance Committee, Public Safety Committee, and Energy Committee. In addition, Dave is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.^[8] On January 6, 2021 Rader was selected to serve as the Senate Majority Caucus Chair.^[9]

In 2023 he co-authored House Bill 1792 with Mike Osburn^[10] that would lessen the penalties of dogfighting in the state of Oklahoma, which sparked pushback from animal rights advocates.^[11] Also in 2023, Lonnie Paxton authored Senate Bill 1006 which died in the Senate. It would have also lessened the penalties for cockfighting in the state, similar to House Bill 2530, authored by Justin Humphrey and Paxton, which also died in the same timeframe.^[12]

Rader is married to his wife, Janet, and with her has three children: sons Daniel and Jordan and daughter Kendal.^[13] In 1989 Rader was inducted into the Will Rogers High School Hall of Fame. Rader graduated with the class of 1975.^[14] In the fall of 2011, Rader published his first book, "Missing Page from the Playbook: Fundamentals Behind the Physical, Mental and Emotional Elements of Commitment". Rader has 9 grandchildren.